The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-11-13

| nOmh0 STATE DoIOfo tnoF octbpuhnEneut In IN
land Of Canaan. Little has been written b
the present century moro fascinating than n
Remains description Of the life OF the patFi
archs-more imposing By the erandness ans
plausbility OF its conjectures, moro instinc
with poetic glamor OF language, more I'm
pressed with that dazzling glory Of aspect, ant
that penetrating charm which makes the liz
tener or tho spectator culver with Joyous emo
ton as he listens to noble verso or contem
plates masterpiece OF sculpture or OF paint
ing. To analyze or to quote passages can givt
no idea Of the sustained interest OF thes'
chapters, whore the author evokes, with grand
lose simplicity picture Of prehistoric life. snt
follows the moral progress Of man from the
condition Of an apish satyr down to the noble
existence Of the pastoral and monothetstis
patriarch Of the wandering tribes OF the Boni
Israel The chapters on the development Of the
monotheistio idea are most curious apd mosi
erudite N. Renan, however. constantly warns
us against ante-dating monotheism, and ut.
tributing to tho monotheism OF tho Israelites
previous to the ninth century. B. @. consist
ence which It did not possess. Tho conception
Of the semites was certainly superior TO the
polytheistic conception Of the Aryans, with
their multitude Of special and local rods, The
nomad Semitic race was the religious race par
excellence, because II was the loast supersti-
| uOub Oh al Iu0 uuUbu IUuluoN Ano WIZ
earliest nomad Semitic pastors borc on their
brow the seal Of God. and the purport Of their
mission. which was to suppress superstition,
From q certain point Of view tho history Of
Israel Is that OF slow Transformation Of the
monotheistic idea, o return to the primitive
| patriarchal state when God had no nAme,
| no personality when tho divine element
was simply called Elohin, "spirits" The
names OF Jehovah. Chemoeh, Rimmon &c., arc
| names which arc found only after Israel settles
as nation. Iahve. which wo call Jehovah. 10 q
particular god. the god OF family, Of u special
country; the religious progress of Israel will
consist Of depriving Iahve OF personal traits,
and leaving him only the abstract existence OF
the Elohim. Elohim Is tho universal god. the
god Of the human race. In reality" Gays N.
Renan. the world has been converted to Flo
him. and not to Iahv6. Tho world hos become
deis:, that is to say elohist. and not Iahveist.
Nay more. the world has forgotten tho very
pronunciation OF 1ahv6: each ono will eternal
ly attribute to 1t the vowels he pleases. Neither
Christianity nor Islamism know Iahv6. 1t Is q
word absolutely elimin ated from pious usage;
1t is the name Of barbarous and foreign god"
Speaking OF tho genius OF tho Hebrew lam
guage. NJ. Renan compares 1t to q culver full
OF steel arrows, n nightly twisted cable, .
brazen trombone tearing the air with two or
three shrill notes. Such q language will ex-
press Mother philosophical thought. nor sci
entinc result nor doubt, nor sentiment OF
impiety. The letters OF its books will be court
cd; but they will DO letters OF fro. The lam
guaCe will not say much; but what 1t has to
say it will beat out on an anvil. 1t Will shed
Hoods OF anger; 1t will utter cries Of rage
against the abuses Of the world: It will sum.
mon the four winds Of heaven to storm the
citadel Of evil. Like the jubilee horn in the
sanctuary. It will serve for no profane use 1t
will mover express the innate joy OF conscience
nor the serenity Of nature; but 1t will sound
the holy war against injustice: it will have &C.
cents Of festivity and accents Of terror. Hap
PLY the Hellenic genius will compose for the
expression OF the Joys and sadness OF the SOUL
a seven -stringed Lutte which will vibrate in uni
son with all that is human. q grand organ with
Thousand pipes which will be equal to the
harmonies OF life. Greece will know oil kinds
OF delights. from the dance In chorus on the
submits of Taygetus to the banquet Of Aspa-
STA. from the smile OF Alcibiades to the aus
terity Of the Portico. from the song Of Amaze
reon to the philosophical drama OF Eschylus
and tho dialogued dreams OF Pinto"
But lot us now pass from details. and let us
SEQ what NJ. Renan has to say about some OF
the great figures OF early Bible history. What
does he think about Moses. that man who has
become colossal among the grand mythical
figures OF humanity The existence OF Moses
he thinks to have been quito probable. His
name appears to DO Egyptian. Tradition rep
resents him as lerite. and modern criticism
and NJ. Renan are agreed that in all probability
the lerites were Egyptians who followed tho
Israelites when they left tho land of the Pha-
raohs, and who remained specially concerned
with the ritual Of public worship. Was Moses
really the chief OF a revolt and the guide OF
fugitive Israel? NJ. Renan is inclined to reject
the whole narrative of Exodus as pure fable,
and to retain rs facts simply the departure Of
Israel from Egypt, and its entrance into the
peninsula Of Sinai. The role Of Moses as q
leader and a lawgiver he considers apparently
rs glorious legend created long after tho
settlement of Israel in the land Of Canaan.
With the foundation Of the royalty We como
to an epoch OF positive facts and NJ. Renan
reconstitutes in a most vivid manner tho life
and relgns Of Saul and OF David. the unscru-
pulous condottier who took his place and be-
came King after Gods own heart the sup
posed ancestor Of Jesus the King whom tho
opinion Of humanity has crowned with the
aureole Of every kind OF glory. David.
young Bethlehemlte. distinguished himself
in the campaign against the Philistines. 80
He was brave. bold, clever and like all tho
Benjamites, an excellent Singer. But what
was most extraordinary in him were
his civil and social qualities. In this
Semitic East, ordinarily hard and re-
pulsive. there are born sometimes prodIgies
OF grace elegance. and intelligence. David |
was one OF those charmers. Capable OF the |
blacklist crimes when circumstances demand |
ed. no was also capable of tho most delicate
sentiments. He knew how to make himself |
popular. AS soon as they knew him people |
became attached to him. His appearance |
formed marked contrast with that of his fell |
low tribesmen. He was rosy-iaced. his fen
lures were fino and amiable, his voice sweet,
and his speech easy. Very ancient texts pre-
sent him as skilful citharists and practised
poet" The story. however, OF David playing
on tho harp before Saul is legendary. and his
role rs psalmist is still more legendary.
NJ. RenHn traces with great spirit the steps |
by which David became popular. "Thore are
men," he says, whom popularity anticipates.
almost without their having courted 1t, men
whom public opinion takes by tho hand. SO to
speak. and orders to commit crimes in view OF